Minutes 27th February 2012

Minutes 27th February 2012 In attendance: S. Gregson, G. Bennett-Lurie, H. Allan, I. McArthur, Erik Igelstrom, C. Goldstone, D. Di Rollo H. Bolwell, A. Rutherford, W. Foote, C. Felstead, D. Keenan, C. Beaumont, L. Taylor Apologies: L. Monkman Agenda 1) New Works Post Mortem 2) Studio Slot – MMSINS 3) Cinders 4) Climate Change Fest. 5) Inter-university drama fest. 6) The Fringe 7) Theatre Trip 8) STaG Ball 9) AGM 10) Hoodies 11) Improv Tea-Time 12) First Aid Kit 13) AOB 1) New Works Post Mortem The board congratulated L. Taylor and all those involved on a really great week. The lack of feedback from those involved was taken as a good sign as no complaints were given! L. Taylor will add various things to the pack including suggestions on finding judges and advice for the poster. The committee was really helpful and involved the whole way through. Production week was good and the whole team were working well together. It was good to have a long time to do tech and dress as well as the get-in as it made things less stressful. It would be nice to have a bigger venue but the costs involved make this difficult however it will be investigated. L. Taylor feels she could have kept a stricter eye on the timing of some of the plays – one in particular was quite long but the judges were asked not to take this into account when judging the plays. The judges were all very happy and impressed with the quality of the shows. Fundraising was very successful and ticket sales raised approximately £700. One play went over budget and has lost receipts so C. Beaumont is having a meeting to discuss this and it is at his own discretion whether or not to refund the amounts. The venue still has an issue with a lack of cleaning in the toilets however it was discussed that perhaps the board could help out with this as there is no on-site cleaner. This will be brought up with the venue before Cinders. There was a slight issue with the programme and C. Felstead reminded L. Taylor that she could ask board members for help if she needed it. 2) Studio Slot – MMSINS The rehearsal went well and the character issues have been resolved. There are now 2 male cast members – a revision to the original script however W. Foote maintains it still reads well. A poster designer has been found and publicity is underway. There will be a budget meeting on Friday. A £3 suggested donation will be advertised on the door. A. Rutherford will contact Heidi about tech – it is up to him what level of tech will be provided. An image for the website banner will be made – this will be a rolling banner as Cinders will also be advertised. More rehearsals are needed as the board feels 2 per week is not enough considering the short time scale. 3) Cinders The fundraiser has been planned – the board should attend on Friday to make it a very successful night. Filming on Friday went well and the footage is being edited. D. Di Rollo will attend the Saturday rehearsal to get some footage for the youtube channel. The blocking has been finished. Grant applications are being filled out this week. L. Taylor will email the SRC to ask whether it is in our best interests to apply for grants for the Fringe and for Cinders. The bar will be stocked by C. Felstead and D. Keenan for Friday. The poster is a week or so behind schedule but I. McArthur is in control and feels it will work out ok. A. Rutherford is still waiting to hear about rights for the play. 4) Climate Change Fest. Publicity ideas that are environmentally friendly are being discussed – some ideas were human flyers (most likely board members) and moss graffiti. It was decided it is worth investing in publicity as a lot of interest can be gained. It was suggested that GUCA could be involved if they wish to be. There are going to be provisional dates advertised in the newsletter so that people are free to help. 5) Inter-University Drama Fest. This will take place in Bristol. It was suggested that Against The Grain/What’s He Building in there? could be taken as a practice for the Fringe. C. Felstead will email back to express our interest. 6) The Fringe The application for Bedlam has been sent. Venues and grants are being applied for. Roles such as publicity will be advertised in the newsletter. 7) Theatre Trip This will be the March social – if board members are interested in going they should book tickets soon. 8) STaG Ball The GU is still tbc as a venue. D. Keenan will try again to gain confirmation. 9) AGM C. Beaumont will make a detailed financial report in time for it. The board packs should be completed and emailed to C. Felstead by the 14th March. 10) Hoodies 2 people have ordered. 10 hoodies in various sizes will be ordered as they will be sold at some point. 11) Improv Tea Time A performance is being considered. A possible date is the 8th March in Jims Bar - another date is at the end of exams in order to give more time. Improv-tea time will trial weekly meetings to see how it goes. 12) First Aid Kit One will be bought as if set is being built it is basic health and safety. 13) AOB C. Goldstone is interested in applying for the NSDF with After Eight. She will research it and report back to the board. There was a discussion about the ticketing system and possibly implementing some system where only 80% are sold online and 20% held back for sale on the door. This was debated for a long time and eventually it was decided that for now at least the cancellation policy will be highlighted so people are aware they can (and should) cancel if they are no longer able to make a show. A reminder email was also suggested as a solution to people not turning up. There will be a meeting with the MSA to discuss using the building amicably.

Minutes 20th February 2012

STaG Board Meeting 20/02/2012 In attendance: S. Gregson, G. Bennett-Lurie, H. Allan, I. McArthur, Erik Igelstrom, C. Goldstone, D. Di Rollo H. Bolwell, A. Rutherford, W. Foote, C. Felstead, D. Keenan, C. Beaumont, L. Monkman Apologies: L. Taylor Agenda 1) New Works 2) Studio Slot 3) Cinders 4) Climate Change 5) Social/Theatre Trip 6) STaG Ball 7) Elections/AGM 8) Board Event 9) AOB 1) New Works The post-mortem will take place next week after an anonymous questionnaire has been answered by those involved. The bar needs stocked for the announcement night on Wednesday – lots will be bought as the social is on Friday so it saves on trips there. The clean up will take place on Tuesday from 4pm. A photo montage was discussed as opposed to videos of the plays due to a lack of footage. 2) Studio Slot Further auditions are being held tonight and it will be cast soon. Heidi will sort publicity and I. McArthur should have the details by the 2nd March. 3) Cinders A fundraising meeting was held and we discovered we could apply for the creative practice fund – this will be done during the week. The plans for the fundraiser are under way and it has been decided £3 will be charged for entry – this will include unlimited sandwiches but people have to pay for cake. Memberising is in process and should be completed by Saturday. Jims has been reserved for a reading night on the 12th March. There has been a singing rehearsal and these are continuing. 4) Climate Change This will start to be planned now that NWF is over. More information is yet to be received from the organisers however we plan to involve other societies too. 5) Social/Theatre Trip Quiz rounds are being written by a few volunteers – there will be 10 questions per round. A (casual) rota is being done for the bar – the board should spend an hour each on it. D. Keenan will buy a prize for the winning team. There will be peanuts/crisps etc and the room will be set up from 6pm. A facebook event for the theatre trip will be made. 6) STaG Ball The committee will meet to start planning soon. The GU is most likely booked although D. Keenan is waiting for confirmation. 7) Elections/AGM The date of the AGM was decided as inappropriate and so has been moved to the 11th March at 4:30pm – this allows for more time to change details of board positions before the elections are advertised. E. Igelstrom feels a lot of work needs done to the constitution and suggested a committee could do this. Prior to the AGM everyone should read the constitution and get to know what they feel may need to be changed/clarified. G. Bennett-Lurie will help H. Allan keep track of any changes. The AGM will be advertised in the newsletter along with a link to the constitution for the members. 8) Board Event L. Taylor will be sending a list of club nights. H. Bolwell will send a food suggestions email where people should sign up for dishes. 9) AOB The exec meeting will be scheduled soon. C. Felstead will email Mark Westbrook about the missing money.

Minutes 13th February 2012

STaG Board Meeting 13/2/12 1. Studio Slot Proposal There was some concern over the date clash with the Climate Change 24 hour play so the performances will now be on the 12th and 13th of March. There was only one proposal - Heidi Murphy directing My Mother Said I Never Should - and this was selected by a majority vote. W. Foote was assigned Board Representative and is to send feedback to Heidi; C. Felstead will also email him the Board Rep pack and the Directors pack to pass on to Heidi. Auditions are to be held this Sunday (19th March). This production will get only basic tech and Heidi is to arrange her own publicity (this should be sent to I. McArthur by 2/3/12). A budget meeting is to be arranged soon. 2. Climate Change 24-hour Play There was a lot of enthusiasm for this project which shall be discussed fully once New Works is over. The possibility of collaborating with various theatre groups from Glasgow was raised and met with approval. 3. Cinders First fundraising meeting has been had; there will be a second this week. A theme has been decided for the Fundraiser and the Launch Night - the former will be a fairytale theme and the latter a ‘broken fairytale’. The possibility of an evening of readings was discussed and questions were raised about its suitability as a fundraising/publicity event. A cast member has dropped out but her role has been replaced and the directors are impressed with the replacement’s enthusiasm to integrate with the cast. There will be a post show discussion on the Thursday night (22/3/12) in the bar space. The first singing rehearsal will be this week. 4. New Works An aftershow venue has been sorted. 5. Social 24/2/12 The bar needs restocking - D. Keenan will take care of this but needs help. 6. 5 Minute Theatre There was a lot of interest shown in this project. The point was raised that this piece will showcase STaG’s talents to a much wider audience than usual and as such a proposal should only be chosen if it is of a high calibre. 7. STaG Ball A Ball committee is being gathered. The venue is to be booked soon - the date for the ball will be 21/5/12. 8. STaG Room Cleanup There will be a cleanup 4-7pm on 21/2/12. 9. Elections/AGM The AGM will be on 22/4/12 (the Sunday before exams start) and the Election will be on 6/5/12. 10. AOB Improv Teatime are considering trying to perform regularly; issues were raised whether this performance should comprise the best talent or try and include everyone.

Minutes 06th February 2012

STaG Board Meeting 06/02/2012 In attendance: S. Gregson, G. Bennett-Lurie, H. Allan, I. McArthur, Erik Igelstrom, C. Goldstone, D. Di Rollo H. Bolwell, A. Rutherford, W. Foote, L. Taylor, C. Felstead, D. Keenan, C. Beaumont Apologies: L. Monkman Agenda 1) New Works 2) Theatre Trip & Social 3) Cinders 4) The Girl with Red Hair Post Mortem 5) STaG Ball 6) Board Event 7) Found Spaces/General Discussion 1) New Works The plans for the cabaret night are well under way – the bar will be stocked, cocktails will be made and acts will be performing (with some coercion from L. Taylor). The STaG room will be decorated from half 5 with material and fairy lights. Posters and flyers have arrived (and look great), a rota will be made for people to do postering/flyering sessions around campus and the city centre. The board and the casts will do this if possible. There have already been some bookings which should increase once the advertising campaign steps up over the next week. L. Taylor will send out plans for the get in and the tech and dress rehearsals – the get in will be on Sunday evening from 19:30. The after party and announcement night emails will be sent out soon. The judges will arrive at 19:15 so L. Taylor can meet and greet as well as answering any questions they may have. She will request they do not talk about the plays until the end of the week. The budget is going ok so far with only one play requesting more money. Memberising is in progress. The SRC gave us £300 towards the event which is brilliant and they also suggested we apply for funds for the Fringe. A door doodle will be sent out this week. 2) Theatre Trip & Social The theatre trip date will be confirmed once D. Keenan has found the cheapest date for student tickets. The pub quiz will be on the 24th and people should suggest topics to D. Keenan via email. Hoodies will be sold at the social and people will be advised to bring £20 with them if they want one. 3) Cinders A fundraising manager has been found – a meeting will take place on Thursday. The first act has been blocked and a music meeting has been held. Singing rehearsals are in line and a band has been confirmed. A creative team meeting will take place on Tuesday. The trailer will be filmed on the 23rd/24th February so costume can be found by then. Cast issues have been addressed. Character development workshops will be held. Social events have been planned for the cast and crew which is good and people seem to be enjoying themselves. 4) GWRH Post Mortem The board congratulated Mabli and Zoe for their excellent work. The show did very well – selling out each night and making a profit of approximately £120/130. Mabli raised her concerns about not finding a venue until the last minute, she felt this could have been avoided by moving the proposal date so there was more time to look for a suitable space. Whilst the Flying Duck was suitable for the promenade style performance it wasn’t the sort of space originally requested by the directors. Here, issues regarding the concept of Found Spaces were raised (see point 7). The budget went over the orignal estimate by about £2 (after this more money had been applied for so overall, the spending was in budget) however Zoe felt there could have been more control over the spending despite the fact this was a very small expense. It was good not to have to worry as they felt they had an ample budget but perhaps this contributed to the relaxed atmosphere. The publicity budget was seen as slightly too low and so the publicity officer should attend budget meetings in future. Mabli felt they had adequate rehearsal time and enjoyed the process overall. 5) STaG Ball A committee will be formed so plans can get underway. D. Keenan will book the GUU for shortly after exams finish – most likely the 21st May. It was advised he books a band as soon as possible as well as a photographer and the bar for the GUU. 6) Board Event This will take place on the 3rd March and the theme is tapas fun. Food ideas will be emailed around. 7) Found Spaces/General Discussion Time constraints of found spaces mean that perhaps venues should be located prior to the rehearsal period. The issue was raised that if non-board members approach spaces it may cause annoyance however, the directors need to have some responsibility for their piece. The space must be viable and creative direction is needed. Proposal deadlines were deemed necessary as otherwise people do not propose. However, the idea was raised of displaying the STaG calendar for the membership – perhaps on the website – so they are aware of when deadlines are coming up and thus have more time to plan out their proposal. The viability of the space should be looked into before accepting the proposal – this will require more discussion and contact between the board and the directors. It should not have to get to the stage where we feel we are settling for a space. It was suggested that a portfolio of previously used spaces (and viable spaces) should be put on the website so people have an idea of what is and is not possible. Found spaces has an experimental quality that not many other STaG productions have and this needs to be preserved. The question was raised whether STaG is reaching a point of saturation – there are too many people interested in seeing small plays so everything is selling out – larger spaces need to be found. This was then counteracted by the fact that larger spaces are expensive and perhaps STaG cannot afford them. There is often low interest in proposals and small scale productions often do not receive a large audition turn out. The issue of putting on more theatre vs quality theatre was raised but heated discussion meant a decision was never reached.